Mary Ann Appler Abbett (1810-1848), (painting).

Mary Ann Appler Abbett (1810-1848), (painting).

Elder, John Adams, 1833-1895, painter. (attributed to)

Mary Ann Appler Abbett (1810-1848), (painting).

Digital Reference:

28 3/4 x 19 3/4 in.

Portrait female -- Abbett, Thomas Middleton, Mrs. (Mary Ann Appler) -- Bust

Restricted Owner.

Formerly in the collection of Abbett, Henry M., Mr. & Mrs.,

Mason, Frances Chancellor Abbett,

Abbett, Henry Middleton & Jane Hall Chancellor,

Mary Ann Appler Abbett (1810-1948) of Washington DC, Lancaster County, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland, was the daughter of Dr. David Appler and the wife of Thomas Middleton Abbett.

The artist is an unknown Virginia painter. Painted posthumously after a circa 1831 portrait miniature of the subject by artist Anson Dickinson which remains in the family.

The painting descended to the sitter's son Henry M. Abbett (b. 1835) who married Jane Hall Chancellor (1837-1897) of Forest Hall, Chancellorsville, and Oak Grove, all in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Jane was the daughter of Major Sanford Chancellor and Frances Longwill Pound Chancellor. Jane was at Chancellorsville with her mother Fannie during the Union occupancy. The painting was inherited by their daughter Frances Chancellor Abbett Mason (1868-1938), an artist of Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. The painting remained in the family until 2017.

The obituary for the sitter's son Henry notes that he was a spy for the Confederacy and was imprisoned at Fort McHenry, though he was one of the first to be exchanged. Henry's wife Jane was with her mother Fannie Pound Chancellor at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System